


How About Boyfriend?

by yukjaem



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Awkwardness. So much Awkwardness., First Dates, Fluff, M/M, also. they fall in love too quickly but don't worry, the dreamies will be there to slow their asses down
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 05:25:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12474460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yukjaem/pseuds/yukjaem
Summary: based on :"let's give each other nicknames!""like what?""how does boyfriend sound?"





	How About Boyfriend?

**Author's Note:**

> the prompt is taken with permission from [here](https://vkooksexualtension.tumblr.com).
> 
> the actual prompt being said is in the next chapter aka this was supposed to be a one-shot but I fail at life.
> 
> (also it feels like I wrote this ages ago when it's literally only been a few months, ahah.)

Lee Donghyuck is a man with a plan.

 

He sits cross-legged on his bed, giggling to himself as he pores over the crumpled sheets of paper scattered across his bed sheets. In the corner of his room, his best friend and sometimes mortal enemy, Na Jaemin, lowers his Seventeen magazine to give him a judgemental look.

 

“You okay there?” he asks, feigning concern. "You're giggling like a high school girl, and I don't think that's considered normal in this society."

 

“Shut up,” Donghyuck retorts. He grabs hold of one of his pillows and aims it at Jaemin’s head. He misses. “Says the one reading a Seventeen magazine. And that’s for preteen girls, I’m pretty sure.”

 

“Hyuck,” Jaemin says slowly, as if he’s speaking to a child, “this is your magazine.”

 

Donghyuck throws another pillow at him, and he misses, again. He huffs. “Like I said, shut up.”

 

Jaemin merely raises another eyebrow and goes back to his magazine. He props it up so that Donghyuck can see that he’s reading it upside down. It’s his Justin Bieber special edition that he had bought in 2013. It’s not his fault that he had liked Justin Bieber when he was thirteen. He was  _ the  _ celebrity to like back then. (And he was also the reason why Donghyuck had realized that he might not be entirely straight.)

 

Speaking of not being straight, he dares to read the papers lying before him again. He reads them over and over until he knows its contents like the back of his hand. His heart thrums in excitement and threatens to rip out of his chest. Donghyuck bounces back on his bed, smiling, then releases an inhuman squeal when he can’t take it any longer.

 

Jaemin lets out a sigh of annoyance. “Can you not?”

 

“I can’t help it!”

 

“At least tell me what you’re doing.”

 

“No, thanks,” drawls Donghyuck with a shake of his head. He knows his best friend will make fun of him.

 

Finally letting curiosity getting the better of him, Jaemin drags himself up, chucking the Seventeen magazine to the side. It falls to the ground, making a small thudding sound as it unceremoniously lands face down.

 

Donghyuck watches him warily as he approaches, a sly smirk etched into his face while he has his hands outreached, threateningly wriggling his fingers back and forth. He clutches the papers closer to his chest, like a mother protecting her children from danger.

 

“Don’t you dare…” he starts.

 

Warning. Na Jaemin may seem like a cute and innocent boy, but he is, in reality, a very dangerous creature. He attacks Donghyuck with a ferocious sense of determination, jabbing and pinching his sides until the latter has to give up. He ruthlessly rips the papers out of his hand, and Donghyuck finds himself being pushed off of his bed.

 

“What is this?” Jaemin says, eyes squinting down at the tiny lines of writing. For once in his life, Donghyuck’s glad that nobody can decipher his chicken scrawls.

 

He pushes himself up. “None of your goddamn business.” Without bothering to hide his smug smile, he reaches out to take the papers back.

 

Jaemin kicks him in the balls, and he falls back to the ground. He keels over in pain. “Na Jaemin,” he wheezes. “I swear, I’m going to kill you--”

 

“Wait,” Jaemin says. He stuffs his foot in Donghyuck’s mouth, successfully shutting him up. “Your penmanship is still horrifying,” Donghyuck splutters in defense, “but is this… a six-month plan on how to acquire--”

 

Donghyuck chokes on Jaemin’s sock-clad foot, and he manages to pry the offensive object out of his mouth. He takes a brief moment to wrinkle his nose at the stench.

 

“--Mark Lee as your boyfriend?”

 

“For fuck’s sake! Yeah, so what?” he says defensively. “You know that I like him.”

 

_ Like,  _ would be an understatement. It’s more like Donghyuck adores the boy, despite never having had a proper conversation with him. It had started back in September when the school had been buzzing about the new transfer student from Canada. To be honest, Donghyuck hadn’t cared much. It was just your average guy, right?

 

Well, it had turned out that the girls fawned over him like he was some kind of celebrity, while the guys praised how well he did in rugby. That’s when Donghyuck had realized that the new kid wasn’t just your average guy. He was probably some hot douchebag.

 

At least he was right about one thing. When he had first laid eyes on Mark Lee, surrounded by his rugby friends and a couple of girls, he had to admit, the guy was  _ hot _ . From his bright eyes to his sharp jawline and come on, even those seagull eyebrows were charming. Mark was hot and cute at the same time, and he was totally his type.

 

He might have developed a small crush then.

 

He also might have stalked him on all his social media accounts and melted at his cute bathroom selfies. He might have learned that Mark was _not_ a douchebag, but he was actually a nice guy who liked to play with kittens. He had posted a picture of a kitten that he had taken home to save from the rain (Donghyuck had wished Mark could just save his pitiful existence by taking _him_ away). He might have also learned that Mark was smart and got As in all of his classes, and he had always wanted to date an intellectual.

 

And he  _ might  _ have fallen in love with him.

 

“Earth to Donghyuck?” Jaemin waves his foot over his face, and he’s quickly shaken out of his reverie. He leans away in disgust. He’d rather be daydreaming about Mark right now.

 

“What?”

 

“Why does the plan take a span of six months?” Jaemin asks, a tone of cheekiness laced in his voice. Sometimes, Donghyuck wonders why he’s friends with him.

 

He stares at him with unveiled distrust, and replies carefully, “Because he’s -- we're all -- graduating soon. So, it has to be quick.”

 

“You call six months quick?” Jaemin hides a giggle. “Oh my God, you’ve got it bad, boy.”

 

Donghyuck puts a hand on his chest, offended. “Six months is nothing compared to the seventeen years you and Jeno took. I had to deal with your pining asses for years!”

 

“We were childhood friends,” Jaemin protests. “It’s not like we could have started dating the moment we were born.”

 

Donghyuck scoffs at his excuse. He vividly remembers Jaemin moaning on about his unrequited love for his childhood friend ever since they were  _ thirteen.  _ That means it had taken them at least four years to get themselves together and start dating. Not only that, but Donghyuck was the one who had given them the first push by locking them in a closet together. And what does he get in return? Nothing but disgusting PDA. God, what a bunch of ungrateful bastards.

 

“Whatever,” he says with a sneer. “My plan is foolproof. I’ve included everything and trust me, in six months, Mark Lee and I will be officially dating.”

 

Jaemin stares at him, face twisted in incredulity. His eyes dart away to look at the paper, then back at him. “The first step is admiring from afar,” he says in a deadpan.

 

“I have to start somewhere!” 

 

He leans away from him with a strange look on his face. “Don’t you already do that though?”

 

“It’s a slow and steady process,” Donghyuck states, punctuating every syllable in his sentence.

 

There’s a beat of silence as Jaemin processes his words, then proceeds to read the rest of his six-month plan. Donghyuck knows each step by heart. Everything is included, from admiring him from afar to their first eye contact to ‘accidentally’ bumping into each other on their way to school, while coincidently standing underneath a cherry blossom tree. He anxiously waits for Jaemin’s opinion because even though he hates the guy, he’s still his best friend.

 

Jaemin purses his lips. He flips the papers back in place and rests his foot on Donghyuck’s head when he attempts to stand up. “Listen,” he says seriously. “I, Na Jaemin and renowned Love Guru, have your back.”

 

“You’ve only been with Jeno, you idiot,” Donghyuck mutters in embarrassment.

 

“At least I have a boyfriend.”

 

True. He can’t say anything about that. Unfortunately, Donghyuck has been single his entire life. The furthest he’d ever gotten to a love life was accidentally kissing Jaemin when they were four years old. It was a pretty traumatic experience that he still regrets to this day.

 

He remains silent and pouts in irritation.

 

Jaemin smirks. “Anyway, as I said, screw this.” He chucks the papers to the side, destroying Donghyuck’s hard work in a single second.

 

There’s a certain feeling of indescribable sadness as he watches his plans fall to ruins. He decides to acquiesce because help is better than none. Even if it’s from Jaemin of all people.

 

“What’s your plan then, oh wise one?” he asks and crosses his arms, skeptical of Jaemin’s conniving brain. The last time he had planned something, it had ended with both of them stuck in detention for weeks.

 

“Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered.” Jaemin smiles widely, eyes twinkling in mischief. With an exaggerated flourish, he points his index finger to the ground. Donghyuck looks down. It’s his Justin Bieber magazine. “But first, you’re going to read that magazine. There’s a  _ How to talk to cute boys  _ section on page twenty-seven.”

 

* * *

 

After reading through the painfully cheesy (yet enlightening),  _ How to talk to cute boys  _ section in the Seventeen magazine, Jaemin had declared that they had done enough for the day. With his charming smile, he had convinced Donghyuck that he’d get back at him tomorrow. (“Tomorrow is the day you’re going to see the world in colour, I swear,” he had promised.) Donghyuck had allowed himself to feel a flutter of anticipation.

 

He doesn’t know why he had trusted him.

 

“This is your brilliant idea?” he says drily.

 

“Yup,” Jaemin says, popping the ‘p’. He rests his forearms on the edge of the barrier standing in between them and the grass field. With a dreamy smile, he gazes out into the distance, towards a certain blond rugby captain. Jeno looks up and smiles back, crinkling his eyes into the shape of crescent moons. Jaemin squeals and gives him an air kiss in slow motion. Jeno takes it with grace and pockets the kiss with a wink.

 

He nearly vomits at their cuteness. “How does ogling Jeno have anything to do with my Mark dilemma?”

 

He has never attended a rugby game for a reason; their school’s the epitome of high school stereotypes. First, you have the preppy cheerleaders at the side, dressed in miniskirts and high ponytails, then the obnoxious (save for a select few) jocks on the field, and finally, you have the insignificant viewers on the bleachers. Donghyuck’s feeling very insignificant right now, and he doesn’t like it. He’s the main character, for God’s sake.

 

“Jaemin,” he repeats. “Why am I here again?”

 

Jaemin waves him off carelessly. “Did you forget? Mark--”

 

He’s interrupted by a loud whistle, signalling the official introduction of the rugby team.

 

The cheerleaders chant one name after the other, hyping up the crowd as each player runs in. They wave at them, like models on a runway. From their cocky smirks to their perfectly coiffed hair, they seem like the typical hot jocks. Donghyuck sits back into his seat, bored. He doesn’t particularly care about anybody here (except maybe Jeno, but Jaemin does enough screaming for the both of them).

 

As soon as the seventh member finishes his lap, Jaemin punches his shoulder. “Pay attention, boy.”

 

Donghyuck rubs his shoulder and is about to slap Jaemin back until the cheerleaders start shouting a name. A name that has been haunting his dream every night.

 

“Mark Lee! Mark Lee! Mark Lee!”

 

How could he have forgotten? He knows that Mark Lee is Canadian, a senior student, a dog person who attracts cats, plays the guitar (Donghyuck’s seen his beautiful fingers), on the badminton team and… recently, has the jersey number eight on the rugby team.

 

Mark appears out of nowhere (seriously, Donghyuck has no idea where he’s been the whole time), his black hair swept back from the wind, the sides shaved just recently. The dark blue rugby uniform that Donghyuck has seen being worn by plenty of others looks drastically different on him. It hugs his lean torso in a way Donghyuck half loves, and half hates because others could see it too.

 

Mark waves at the crowd, and Donghyuck’s heart leaps out of his chest.

 

“He’s beautiful,” he whispers underneath his breath.

 

Jaemin gives him a knowing look. “You’re welcome.”

 

The rest of the team are introduced -- not that Donghyuck’s paying attention because there’s  _ Mark Lee _ \-- along with the opposing school. There’s a brief pause as both teams start warming up before the game, and all he can do is stare at Mark. His mind goes haywire, and if anyone were to read his mind, all they’d be seeing is  _ Mark Lee, hot, Mark Lee, cute, Mark Lee, hot, Mark Lee, cute, Markhyuck? _

 

The whistle blows, and the game begins. Beside him, Jaemin screams and cheers, waving his handmade  _ Jeno _ poster up in the air.

 

“Go, Jeno!” he shouts, and Donghyuck winces at the noise.

 

He has no idea what’s going on. Not that he’s complaining or anything. They’re huddling around in a circle, butts high up in the air. If Donghyuck had known that the rugby uniform included short shorts, he would have been here a long time ago. Not that he’s a pervert or anything. He just appreciates the male physique.

 

Talking about the male species, he likes Mark, a lot.

 

“Everything he does is breathtaking,” he groans through the cracks of his fingers, his hand clasped over his mouth to prevent himself from drooling. “He’s an angel, Jaemin, a fucking angel.”

 

“I know, right?” Jaemin agrees. “And did you see the way he tackled that guy and snatched the ball? He's a beast. I love seeing these different sides of him.”

 

Donghyuck's about to agree to disagree. In his opinion, the word 'beast' sounds too savage for someone like Mark. He pauses, "Are we talking about the same person?"

 

"Yes, I'm talking about Jeno." He spares a quick glance at Donghyuck and adds nonchalantly, "Stay away from my man."

 

Donghyuck's about to express his disgust at the thought of him admiring Jeno and calling him an angel of all things, but he shuts himself up. Something had happened in the game; Mark's team yells, "Mark Lee for the win!" as he sprints down the field. Sweat drips from his strands of hair, down his back, and he passes Jeno, who gives him a quick high five.

 

He still has no idea what had just happened, but Mark must have done something amazing, of course. He remains quiet by Jaemin's screams, fascinated, as Mark gestures at the crowd, making them go wilder. His fascination slowly morphs into mortification as Mark’s eyes sweep through the masses of people, coming closer and closer to him and Jaemin.

 

Their eyes meet, Mark smiles, and Donghyuck sees colours for the first time.

 

You know the cheesy romance novels? The ones that Donghyuck does  _ not  _ like read? Well, this is a scene taken right out of one. It’s like he’s been wearing dirty glasses and someone has finally taken the time to wipe away the filter of dust. Suddenly, the sun shines bright, illuminating the green grass, running down the orange bleachers, towards Mark flushed cheeks. The revelation makes Donghyuck rub his eyes.

 

Are he and Mark soulmates? How else would one explain the colours bursting at first eye contact?

 

Mark turns back around, and the game resumes in full force. Donghyuck doesn’t even speak to Jaemin this time, doesn’t feel his jaw falling, nor his eyes widening. He merely continues to watch, as if he’s under a spell. A spell of  _ love _ .

 

He doesn’t realize how long he’s been sitting there, silently watching.

 

“Donghyuck.”

 

The game’s done; their school team has won by a wide margin. Jeno claps his teammates’ backs and loops an arm around Mark’s shoulder. The latter smiles so brightly, Donghyuck’s nearly blinded.

 

“Donghyuck.”

 

They’re a perfect pair, those two; they're in the centre of attention, basked in the golden haze of sunlight, and surrounded by either friends or wannabes. A twinge of pure  _ want  _ stirs in Donghyuck’s guts. He doesn’t want to be just Mark’s brother and friend, like Jeno, but he’ll settle down for that if that’s the closest he can get.

 

“ _ Donghyuck! _ ” Jaemin snaps. “Hurry up, we’re going.”

 

He blinks, baffled. “Wait, what?”

 

“We’re friends with Jeno. Plus, Jeno’s my boyfriend,” he says impatiently.

 

Donghyuck already knows that. “Yeah, so?’

 

“So, Jeno and Mark recently became friends. He can probably hook you two up.”

 

He isn’t given the time to respond before Jaemin harshly pulls him. They approach Jeno and Mark -- he has his eyes specifically on the latter -- and he can feel a sense of impending doom fill in his guts.

 

They’re not supposed to meet -- to talk -- this soon.

 

“I’m not ready!” he whispers vehemently into Jaemin’s ear.

 

“Yes, you are. Remember the  _ How to talk to cute boys  _ section we read yesterday? This is your time to shine.”

 

“I said, I’m not ready, you fu--”

 

“Jaemin!” Jeno greets. He subtly parts from his circle of jock friends, though Mark remains trapped underneath his arm. Donghyuck sympathises with him. Jaemin doesn’t give him the chance to escape. He grips his wrist tightly, pulling him harder when he weakly tries to break free.

 

"Honey!" replies Jaemin, voice oozing with sweetness, and Donghyuck cringes at his friends’ antics. He doesn’t dare to look at Mark’s expression and forces himself to focus on anything else. Jaemin drops his wrist.

 

"I'm so glad you came,” Jeno says. He abandons Mark for Jaemin, pressing his sweaty torso to his boyfriend’s, his arms wrapped around him.

 

Apparently, Jeno and Jaemin have never heard of personal hygiene, because no matter how much you love someone, you don't hug them when they're sweaty (but he'd hug Mark, even if they're both drenched in sweat).

 

He shares a look with Mark -- he just  _ shares  _ a look with Mark fucking Lee. His eyes scream,  _ I have no idea what’s going on.  _ Donghyuck replies with a sympathetic nod and tries his best to convey,  _ Trust me, you don’t want to know. They’re gross fuckers. _

 

He hopes Mark understands what he’s trying to say, and not wondering why Donghyuck’s twitching his eyebrows and squinting his eyes at some parts of his mental sentence.

 

Jaemin remains oblivious to their silent conversation. He clasps his arms around Jeno’s neck, staring up at him as if there’s only the two of them left in the world.

 

"I'd never miss this for the world,” he whispers, and Donghyuck fakes vomiting, though trust him, he’s vomiting for real in his mind. He catches Mark stifling a giggle at his reaction, and he can’t help but preen in delight.

 

Jeno tilts his chin down while Jaemin tilts his chin up. Their lips approach at an alarmingly fast rate. They both close their eyes and--

 

“Don’t. You. Fucking. Dare,” Donghyuck cuts in.

 

Jeno pulls away, his fingers combing back his blond hair. He seems startled by their presence, as if they weren’t there since the beginning. "Oh, hey, Donghyuck,” he says languidly. “This is your first time coming to a rugby game, right?"

 

"Yeah." It won’t be his last time, that’s for sure.

 

"What a coincidence! It's also Mark's first official game." Jeno beams and claps Mark on the back. "Did you know that Mark's older than us by a year? It turns out that he started elementary school late."

 

Donghyuck has to resist rolling his eyes; of course, he knows that already. _Anyone_ would know that if they just did a little bit of research. "Yeah, I know--" he stutters out and manages to stop himself in time. "I mean, no. I didn’t know that. That’s cool.”

 

Wow, he’s lame.

 

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot,” Jeno says, out of the blue. “You guys don't know each other. Mark, this is Na Jaemin, my precious boyfriend." The couple simultaneously gravitate to each other, heads nearly touching. "And this is Lee Donghyuck.” Donghyuck attempts to smile naturally. “Guys, this is Mark Lee."

 

"Nice to meet you," Mark says.

 

Donghyuck stiffens and awkwardly says, "The pleasure's all mine."

 

He offers his hand -- to Mark’s bewilderment -- and when their fingertips touch, he nearly combusts on the spot. He wonders if his palms are sweaty; it's hard to remain aware of his body when he and Mark are touching. Self-conscious, he wipes his hands on his pants, then belatedly realises how rude he must be coming off as. Plus, who even offers a handshake these days? Fucking morons, that's who.

 

Mark scratches behind his ear, and Donghyuck shifts on his feet. If Jaemin had just left him and his six-month plan alone, this impromptu meeting wouldn't be happening right now. Frankly speaking, he isn't ready for this.

 

Jaemin must find the situation hilarious, that asshole, and laughs. There isn’t a single day in Donghyuck’s life that passes without him questioning their friendship. Said asshole entwines his hands around Jeno’s neck (again!) and Donghyuck suddenly has the urge to gouge out his eyes.

 

They kiss.

 

"That is so gross, you two. Get a room," he groans.

 

Jaemin sticks his tongue out. He gives Mark a look, then slowly, moves onto Donghyuck, giving him another look. ( _ Whatever you want to say _ , Donghyuck sings in his mind,  _ don't _ .) With an exaggerated wink, he says, "You're just jealous that you don't have a boyfriend. It's too bad, really. I know that you’re  _ very  _ lonely."

 

Donghyuck doesn’t know a Na Jaemin because he doesn’t exist. At least, not in his book. If anybody dares to say so otherwise, they’re dead to him too. All dead. He chokes on his spit, flustered. He’ll do anything to pretend that didn’t just happen.

 

“Whatever.” He rolls his eyes as nonchalantly as possible.

 

Jaemin giggles and tugs Jeno’s arm. With another wink -- Donghyuck wishes he can just sew his eyes shut -- he says, "If you insist, Jeno and I will leave you guys alone. We need some time to catch up anyway."

 

Can he be any more obvious? And since when did he ‘insist’?

 

True to his words, the couple leaves them alone, standing in the middle of nowhere. They’re separated from the jock crowd and the audience. Donghyuck doesn’t know what to do.

 

"Uh…” he flounders on the spot.

 

Mark scratches behind his ear, again. It might be a habit of his, Donghyuck notes. "You're the same age as Jeno, right? A senior student?"

 

"Yeah."

 

There’s an awkward beat of silence as Donghyuck looks at Mark, and Mark looks at him. They stare at one another, then look away. It might just be him, but he swears Mark looks redder than normal, even redder than he should be after a game. Is he embarrassed by their situation too?

 

_ Get your head in the game,  _ Donghyuck chants.  _ What do I say? _

 

It’s as if he’s had a sudden moment of epiphany. The Seventeen magazine that Jaemin had made him read might be useful after all. What did they say again?

 

_ Be interested in what they do. _

 

He coughs, "I heard that you're really good at rugby."

 

Mark brightens up. "I guess. At least, I hope I am. I enjoy playing it and to be honest, it relieves some of my stress."

 

_ Make a point to show how involved you are in the conversation by asking questions or saying "yeah" and "mmm-hmm." _

 

"Oh, yeah, tackling people,” Donghyuck coughs again. “Yeah, that relieves stress, yeah."

 

Did he say too many ‘yeah’s? Yeah, he knows he said too many ‘yeah’s. Yeah, he probably looks like a damn fool who can only say ‘yeah’ all the time.

 

So, like an idiot, he adds one last, “Yeah.”

 

For some reason, Mark laughs, loud and clear. He loves the sound of him laughing; he’d do anything to hear it again. According to Seventeen, the next step to making a boy laugh while flirting with them is:

 

_ Remember to keep eye contact. Tease them with a nice smile and draw attention to your lips. _

 

How the fuck is he supposed to draw attention to his lips without looking like a weirdo? Casually, he shifts back on his heels and drags his thumb over his lower lip, like it’s a natural habit of his.

 

"Okay, you got me,” Mark says, and his eyes drop somewhat, to somewhere. It's silly how Donghyuck hopes he's looking at his lips. “Tackling people does relieve some of my stress, but I meant running and hearing the crowd cheering and all that. It's like seeing colours for the first time, if you know what I mean." He scratches behind his ear. "Sorry, that sounds cheesy.”

 

Donghyuck’s quick to reassure. "No, no, I get what you mean! It's like your vision suddenly clears and you're super focused but not at the same time. The world looks completely different after."

 

“You’re right.” Mark looks at him curiously. "When did you feel this way?"

 

_ Well.  _ What’s he supposed to say?  _ When you looked at me and smiled, I saw colours for the first time? And I might be convinced that we’re meant to be? We’re fucking soulmates, okay. _

 

He needs serious help. What did Seventeen say again?

 

_ Don’t be afraid to laugh! Guys love a girl with a good sense of humour. _

 

He's not a girl, but he laughs anyway. All he does is laugh; it’s a high-pitched and strangled sound. He does the playful shoulder punch technique, as if Mark’s teasing him and they’re having  _ so  _ much fun flirting. It's not like he's avoiding the question or anything.

 

"Dude, are you okay?" Mark asks slowly.

 

Fuck Seventeen and their advice. They suck. "Yeah, I’m just not used to talking to new people," he lies. He's great with people, especially charming the pants off of them. He's just not great with someone named Mark Lee.

 

“Oh, same. Jeno was the first one who talked to me on the rugby team,” Mark says, reminiscent. “He's almost like my savior.”

 

Donghyuck takes the chance to peek a glance at said savior. Jeno looks like the opposite of a savior; he and Jaemin are currently making out, barely hidden behind the bleachers. Are minors even allowed to kiss in public? Shouldn’t that be illegal? Mark follows his line of sight, and grimaces.

 

There’s some distress in his tone. "By the way, Jeno invited me to the movies with Jaemin."

 

"Oh no," Donghyuck gasps in horror. "Did you agree?"

 

"Yeah, but if I had known Jaemin was his boyfriend -- not that there's anything wrong with that -- I wouldn't have." He scratches behind his ear and inhales sharply through his nose. "I don't want to be a third wheel, but he did say I could bring a... friend if I wanted to. He recommended you."

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah. Apparently, he thinks we’d get along great.” He pauses, “Now that I've met you, I think that I agree with him.”

 

Praise the Lord or whatever higher being that had allowed this to happen. In fact, praise Jaemin for dragging him into this. Who's Jaemin? The love of his life, second only to Mark Lee.

 

Confidence boosted, he shrugs and flicks his hair to the side. “I mean, I am pretty damn amazing.”

 

“I can tell,” Mark says. He reaches out to ruffle Donghyuck’s hair, and Donghyuck might have died a little more. Is this normal for two guys who barely know each other? "So, do you want to come?"

 

Fuck, yeah. "I might be able to make it. When is it?"

 

"This Saturday at 4 pm. So, tomorrow. Sorry for the late notice."

 

"No, it's fine." He pretends to mentally check his schedule and taps his finger on his chin. After what he considers an appropriate amount of time, he says, "Yup, I think I'm free."

 

Even if he isn’t free, he’ll cancel anything, including his weekly yoga lessons, just to make himself free. Thankfully, the only thing he has this Saturday is nothing.

 

"Awesome," Mark says brightly. "Look, I'd love to talk to you some more, but I'm super gross and sweaty right now. I'm going to go clean up. See you tomorrow, man?"

 

"Yeah. See you tomorrow."

 

Mark smiles. “Oh, and is it okay if I text you the details later? Jeno can give me your number.”

 

Donghyuck, once again blinded by Mark’s radiant smile (he even beats Jeno's unnecessary eye smile, in his personal opinion), can only nod blankly.

 

“Cool,” says Mark, and he begins to walk away, a bounce in his steps.

 

Donghyuck calls back, a beat too late, "Thank you."

 

Fuck.

 

Did he just say ‘thank you’ to Mark’s ‘cool’? Who even does that? He’s such a fucking idiot.

 

Mark blinks, confused, and when Donghyuck fumbles to clear up his mistake, he waves him off. He wipes the back of his hand over his forehead before heading into the change rooms with one last burst of laughter.

 

The last thing Donghyuk hears is, “Thank  _ you. _ ”

**Author's Note:**

> so, yeah. I have the majority of this done already, but I don't like it so I don't really plan on publishing it. (unless you guys want me to lol.) I just wanted this to off my chest so that I can start writing something new.
> 
> (BTW, I'd much appreciate if you sent me prompts via [Tumblr](http://jazzyjaemin.tumblr.com) because I really want to write and improve myself, but My Ideas suck ass.)


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